


Post Season 4 Episode 1

by Actias



Series: Sherlock Post Season 4 Thoughts [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Character Development, Episode 1, Opinions, Overview, Questions, Spoilers, anything else?, season 4, sherlock bbc - Freeform, thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 02:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9154741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Actias/pseuds/Actias
Summary: My thoughts, questions etc after watching the first episode of season 4. Note: I haven't rewatched yet, I haven't checked all my quotes and haven't researched anything. Therefore, this is fresh off the bat first impressions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS  
> You probably don't want to read this before watching the episode.

For some reason, this episode has left me quite empty. I didn’t cry. I didn’t laugh as much as I thought I would. To be fair, I feel indifferent. (In all honesty, it’s probably in part because of getting almost drunk on new year’s eve, going to bed at 4am, waking up every hour and a half until 12 at which point I ate burnt pancakes, bussed home in the snow, had a cup of coffee and fought with my sound system until air time). BUT it was an awesome episode and I will go and re-watch it now. I love this show, can't wait for next week!

Surprises:

To me, one of the most enjoyable thing about the show is how often it ends up surprising me. Here they are in order of appearance,

  1. The opening scene; literally moments (well, probably a couple of days) after Sherlock’s return from exile and Mycroft (aka the government) gets cross with his brother/detective/junkie for tweeting during an official meeting and practically leaps on him to confiscate his phone. It surprised me how often Sherlock went to Mycroft for help. I think secretly Mycroft is enjoying it though he did warn Sherlock that the number of favours he has left is getting low. Does this mean that Mycroft is going to call in a favour of his own? Also, when did those two get so close? I love it but it took me by surprise.
  2. Sherlock was so chipper during that meeting at the beginning. It resembled the beginning of Baskerville when he was trying to stop smoking. I was expecting at least one full on “I’m not human” moment but even those were him joking about his intellect. He’s definitely much much more human than in any other season.
  3. The dog! Sherlock was more friendly to the dog than any other human being! That speaks a lot about Redbeard. He has a soft spot. :)
  4. Nice touch for the killer to track Mary by googling Sherlock Holmes. Shows the power of the internet (and makes it creepy).
  5. Sherlock being so loyal and determined to keep John and Mary safe. He would burn down the world for them. “Is it sentiment speaking?”, “It’s me.”, “It gets harder and harder to tell the difference.” I loved that exchange. Mycroft seemed so amused.
  6. Everyone was so heartbroken at the end. Looking back, it was painful to watch (would have been if my sister had stopped laughing at how stupid she thought the situation was).
  7. John blamed Sherlock so hard for Mary’s death. It was pretty much unfair. John was the one to tell Mary to go first. Maybe he blames himself for her death but can’t face that reality. On one side, Sherlock wasn’t able to uphold his promise. However, he would have taken the bullet if it wasn’t for Mary to chose to sacrifice herself for him. I suppose in some way she thought that her death made both of them safer in the long term. Also, I think John would have taken the bullet for Sherlock if he could have done. That’s the beauty of their friendship, they’d die for each other.
  8. When I saw the therapist, I went ‘here we go again’ but then it was Sherlock and I couldn’t believe my eyes. He even asked Mrs Hudson to stop him every time he starts being an ass. He really has grown as a character. When Molly told him that John didn’t want to see him ever, he seemed slightly resentful, not hurt, like he suddenly knew what grief felt like.He seems much more self-conscious.
  9. Last surprise, Mycroft’s house looks ugly as hell. I get that he’s working most of the time but still, he wears really nice clothes so I thought his house would be much better. Also, ‘Hmmm I’m never home but let me double check if there’s something in the fridge, nope, I’ll order food again on my really old unfashionable phone, ah yes, I also have to call my brother, I think it’s his birthday.’. I was like lololololololololol. (note: I have no proof that it’s a birthday note, that was just the first thought that popped into my head). Also, Mycroft is taller than his fridge. That cracked me up.



Thoughts:

  1. Mycroft said he doesn’t like loose ends yet he has created many by changing the truth of Magnussen’s death. All agents know the truth and any of them could slip up. Also, who thought it was a good idea to edit the footage into “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” *shoots Magnussen’s foot*.
  2. There are constant clips of sharks swimming around. I suppose Sherlock knows that he’s in deep waters without much of a lifeboat. In his last vow, Sherlock compared Magnussen to a shark. Any link remaining? Or is it just his metaphor for bad people who want to kill him?



Realizations:

  1. Sherlock took the time to visit the victim’s parents and tell them how his son died. He even seemed sincere when he said ‘I’m sorry’.
  2. In this episode, Mary and Sherlock kept repeating how John was as loyal as a dog yet Gatiss chose to show John almost cheating on Mary.
  3. Sherlock always asks John before doing anything concerning Mary. It was John’s idea to put a tracking device on the USB stick. Therefore, that was done before Mary and Sherlock met up. Therefore, Sherlock talked about it with John first. Therefore, they were both expecting her to run off. Cinematography is a funny thing, it can make a situation seem totally unexpected when in reality it was completely planned.



Post episode questions:

  1. How will John deal with Mary’s death? Will he “cheat” on her and go out with the new girl? Will he become depressed as hell and hole up? Will Mary’s death reinforce his loyalty towards her and Rosamond?
  2. What is the point of having John meet another girl? Is he trying to find something ordinary to hold on to? Is it a baddie trying to get to him? If they do hook up, will it work? Hopefully not. Is she psychopathic enough for him?
  3. What did John really do before joining Sherlock at the aquarium? Did he talk to the other girl? Is that why he seemed so mad at Mary’s death? Does he blame himself instead? When does John Watson ever tell Mary to go first? “You can’t come, you’re pregnant.”, “You can’t go, I’m pregnant.” John has never wanted to put Mary in danger before. He flew to meet up with her because he was scared for her life. Or did he trust Sherlock Holmes too much?
  4. What about Mary’s video at the end? What did she mean by “Go to hell.”? That put with her previous statement makes “Save John Watson. Go to hell.”. Does she mean, ‘as long as you’re with my husband, you’re putting him in danger so leave him alone’? But if it did, it contradicts her dying words of “I’m sorry I shot you. Have I told you I liked you.”. Or maybe she means ‘John’s in hell, get him out of there.’
  5. The story of the merchant combined with an east wind. Is Sherlock predicting death? Is Mycroft predicting Sherlock’s death? Is that even an option? Can we have a happy ending somewhere, please?



That's about it! I might add a couple things after re-watching. Don't hesitate to turn this into a conversation, if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer. Love y'all. I'll probably do this again next week :)

-Alex


	2. Comment answers and 2nd viewing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Me going over my previous points after watching the episode for the second time. Adding some, changing others and answering to some of the items mentioned in the comments.

Thank you to everyone who read/commented! I've enjoyed writing every one of these points out because it helps me wrap my head around the whole episode.

After watching The Six Thatchers a second time, I realised a few things concerning John's new female acquaintance.

  1. There's a new musical score for that situation and most of the score is based on characters and situations. This makes me believe that there's more to the two's relationship that we haven't discovered yet.
  2. Also, if they wanted to show that John had really let her go, there would have been a shot of him turning his back and walking away when he sees her after getting off the bus. But the last thing we see is his awkward smile.
  3. BUT in the plane, he seems tired of all the lies that surrounded his relationship with Mary. He even almost told Mary about the girl he met. Therefore I trust John will make a right decision. (or Sherlock might intervene).



Concerning point 9 of _Surprises_

 _"Last surprise, Mycroft’s house looks ugly as hell. I get that he’s working most of the time but still, he wears really nice clothes so I thought his house would be much better. Also, ‘Hmmm I’m never home but let me double check if there’s something in the fridge, nope, I’ll order food again on my really old unfashionable phone, ah yes, I also have to call my brother, I think it’s his birthday.’. I was like_ lololololololololol _. (note: I have no proof that it’s a birthday note, that was just the first thought that popped into my head). Also, Mycroft is taller than his fridge. That cracked me up."_

I realised that Mycroft's kitchen wasn't all that bad. The second time I watched the episode, I had a laptop in my lap vs a somewhat far away tv, so I realised that he actually had wallpaper. At first glance (and in the dark) it looked like his walls were mouldy. Also, his phone is modern enough (though I still don't like the look of it.) His house is just so empty and lonely I feel sad for him.

To: bigblueboxat221b & Sparkypip

I agree that John was a little(if not almost completely) left out this episode. Everything happened around him without his assistance being needed (hence his balloon face and helping Mrs H with a sudoku). That was one thing that I noticed about the trailers, there was equal if not more of Mycroft than John. At the core, the show is about two blokes and their crazy adventures. At some point, Mycroft needs to step back. I don't think he necessarily has something up his sleeve but rather that his relationship with Sherlock is getting closer and closer, therefore their actions have more and more influence over each other. I know a lot of people have theories of Mycroft dying, but personally I don't think he would because:

  1. On the Nerd HQ panel, someone asked if Mark self-indulges and puts himself in more. He answered with ‘have done and will do’. Considering that apparently season 4 and 5 are mapped out, if Mark knew that Mycroft would die he would answer differently, it is safe to assume that he won’t die soon.
  2. Is it canon to have Mycroft die? Arthur Conan-Doyle doesn’t really feature Mycroft so Moftiss are at pretty large liberty. It is guaranteed that Sherlock and John won’t die. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a series. It is also unlikely that characters such as Mrs Hudson and Lestrade would die (maybe Mrs H out of old age eventually). Is it safe to assume that Sherlock’s elder brother who also happens to be the government would also live on? If Mycroft does die, chances are he’ll have a heart attack or die of cancer or something (I know, it feels very underwhelming). Or, if he knows that he is a dead man (for health reasons presumably) he might sacrifice himself for Sherlock.
  3. Is it in Mycroft’s nature to die? If he does, it’s safe to agree it’ll involve Sherlock in some way or another. BUT, Mycroft has power over people, he is great at estimations and calculating risks (as Sherlock mentions in His Last Vow) and he avoids legwork. I believe therefore that Mycroft is able to take necessary precautions when it comes to his own life. He knows his importance in England and I doubt he would want to leave ‘goldfish’ running the country without him.
  4. IF Mycroft were to die, it would be in episode 3 because at the time of the panel, Benedict and Mark still had a big scene to film when they got back. They were currently in block 3 of filming, presumably also episode 3. Also, the picture that Mark posted on twitter ‘the sauerkraut boys band’ featured them together still filming. It can’t be a flashback from an earlier season because John has his new haircut. SO, we’d still get a lot of Mycroft in season 4.



Therefore, YES Mycroft is/will be involved in a major capacity this season (I'm so delighted!) but if season 5 is a thing, I'm guessing there'll be a step back on his part. Maybe he'll go travelling or something lol. *Imagines Sherlock making fun of Mycroft's sun tan*

Poor Molly indeed! Every season I feel so bad for her. You could see how much she didn't want to pass on John's message. I feel like she deserves a happy ending.

The black pearl case is definitely suspicious. Maybe it'll turn up in a goose or something (unless Sherlock's first guess about it being in Thatcher's bust was the equivalent of the blue carbuncle turning up in a goose). There's the possibility that he has already partially solved the case - we know he's been thinking about it.

I can't wait to see what influence Sherlock will have on Rosie! Their relationship could be so cute!

\----------------------------------

So I ended up pasting a long theory thing about Mycroft not dying which I hope I'm right about otherwise it would be embarrassing. Anyway...

Hope you're enjoying season 4 so far, I sure am. If my estimations are correct, I'll have watched TST at least 5 times before next weekend (w/family, then w/friends, then w/other friend, then w/other friends, then alone). Have a great week and catch you later!

-Alex

 _Side note_ :  _At first I didn't know who'd written the episode and then I checked and it was Mark. While watching it a second time there were so many moments when I'd go, 'that's a Mark thing, that's a Mark thing, that's a Mark thing'. From the funny Mycroft scenes to the references to horror movies to the choice of Thatcher, this episode had Mark's character and I've enjoyed it all the more for noticing. This note is really unimportant but yeah..._

_Also, can Mycroft try summoning the devil and then have Moriarty appear? Can that be a thing? Or is Mycroft already in line with Lucifer?_


End file.
